Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett on Tuesday announced nine appointments to a new board that will oversee finances, facilities and transportation for public and charter schools across the Indianapolis Public Schools district.
The board comes after years of debate over how to solve the city's operational inefficiencies and inequalities with the district and charter schools that enroll nearly 43,000 students.
Hogsett is responsible for all appointments under a law passed in February that created the Indianapolis Public Education Corporation. The law gave Hogsett until Tuesday to make the appointments. The nine members are split among three categories:
IPS Board of School Commissioners members: Hope Star, District 3 and board president; Ashley Thomas, District 1; and Deandra Thompson, an at-large member.
Charter school leaders: David Harris, president and CEO of Christel House International; Janet McNeal, president of Herron Classical Schools; and Dexter Taylor, director at Paramount Brookside.
Community leaders: Patricia Castañeda, vice president at KeyBank; John R. Hammond III, partner at Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP; and Edward Rangel, founding CEO of Adelante Schools.
Board members’ terms begin immediately.
The appointments include familiar names in the city’s charter school section and education reform. Harris founded The Mind Trust in 2006 and served as its CEO until 2018. The local school reform organization supports the expansion of charter schools in Indianapolis and has long pushed for IPS to parter with charter schools through sharing funds and facilities. Harris, who will chair the corporation board, was also Indianapolis' first charter school director under former Mayor Bart Peterson.
On Tuesday, Harris resigned from his position as a board member of The Mind Trust, according to a spokesperson.
McNeal was the head of school at Herron High School at its founding in 2006 and led the charter network’s expansion to include Herron Preparatory Academy and Herron-Riverside High School.
Edward Rangel’s Adelante Schools partnered with IPS School Board in 2020 to operate Emma Donnan Elementary and Middle School as a charter school.
Castañeda is on the board of Indianapolis Metropolitan charter high school, according to its website. Castañeda also spent 12 years on the board of the Neighborhood Charter Network, a charter school operator that runs Enlace, a school operated under contract with IPS.
Taylor has been the principal at Paramount Brookside charter school for the past seven years, and before that worked in Carmel Clay Schools, according to this LinkedIn profile.
Hammond III spent served as a senior policy advisor to former Gov. Robert D. Orr for eight years, acting as the governor's chief legislative director and senior advisor for education policy. He also served as Indiana’s Republican National Committeeman for three terms.
What comes next for the board
The establishment of IPEC marks the beginning of what will be a years-long process of the new board assuming decision-making power over transportation, finances and a new accountability system for schools across the IPS boundary. It will also have the power to close low-performing schools and inefficient school buildings.
The law drew sharp criticism during this year's legislative session, with Democrats and IPS supporters arguing that giving an unelected board taxing authority amounts to taxation without representation.
Supporters say the structure will help families across the district access resources — including required districtwide transportation — that some schools have lacked
“This new board is forming at a critical time for all public schools within the IPS boundary,” Hogsett said in a statement. “These dedicated leaders possess the expertise necessary to ensure our schools are able to operate efficiently and serve our students equitably. I believe in their combined ability to make the difficult – but important – decisions that will create a sustainable public school system in Indianapolis for years to come.”
The IPS board said in a statement Tuesday it was proud of its three members selected for the new board. “We look forward to partnering with all members of the IPEC in a spirit of transparency, shared responsibility, and continued progress for our community's children,” the statement said.
With the board seated, control over portions of IPS's finances and tax levy authority will begin shifting away from the elected IPS board.
One of the board's likely first actions will be whether to approve a resolution placing a new operating referendum on the November ballot. The new board must approve the resolution by June 30, according to state law. IPS projects ending this year with a $40 million cash deficit. The IPS board and Indianapolis Public Schools Superintendent Aleesia Johnson have said without a voter-approved operating referendum on the November ballot, the district will run out of money.
The elected IPS board and individual charter school boards retain authority over hiring and academic curriculum. A late amendment to the law also allows school leaders to opt out of IPEC and retain control of their own facilities.
Terms for board members are staggered: three members serve until July 1, 2028; three until July 1, 2029; and three through the full four-year term ending July 1, 2030. All subsequent members serve four-year terms.
All members must reside within the IPS district. Hogsett may also remove any board member for cause. If a member dies, resigns, moves outside the IPS district or loses the qualifying position on the IPS or a charter school board that made them eligible for appointment, Hogsett will appoint a replacement.
The board is required to meet at least once every three months, with meetings called by the chair.
The board will appoint an executive director, recommended by Hogsett, to manage the corporation's operations and staff. The board will set the salary for the executive director and any other employees of the corporation.
Correction April 1, 2026 In a previous version of this story, John R. Hammond IV was misidentified as an appointee to the Indianapolis Public Education Corporation. John R. Hammond III is the appointee to the board.
Contact Government Reporter Caroline Beck at cbeck@wfyi.org.
Eric Weddle is WFYI's education editor. Contact Eric at eweddle@wfyi.org or follow him on X at @ericweddle.
